Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat: How promise of revival of turmeric board affected voter behaviour?

Nizamabad: The well-heeled voters of the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency are usually credited with an open display of disapproval of a candidate who errs by going arrogant.

Even an ignored election promise can have them voting out a public representative.

The last example of a leader being voted out on this count, according to observers is that of former MP and once powerful K Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao who was rejected by Nizamabad voters in the 2019 general elections.

Failing to fulfil promises

She had failed to deliver on two of her key promises made during the previous elections, that of getting a Turmeric Board to Nizamabad to have the Nizam Sugar Factory (NSF) at Bodhan reopened.

In the last Parliamentary election, BJP’s Dharmapuri Arvind defeated Kavitha by a margin of about 70,000 votes having polled 4,80,584 votes over 45 per cent of the votes cast. The Congress candidate Madhu Yaskhi Goud was a distant third having polled only 69,240, a measly 6.52 per cent.

Can election promises determine voting strategies?

Can this aspect of voter behaviour be applied in the present context to assess the winning chances of the candidates who have been fielded by the BJP, Congress and BRS. This being a three-way contest, the factor may not make much sense, according to a professor at Telangana University, Nizamabad.

For the sake of the record, the BJP candidate Dharmapuri Arvind has fulfilled his promise of getting Turmeric Board. Congress nominee, veteran MLC T Jeevan Reddy is a key member of the Sugar Factory Revival Committee, the revival being a long-standing demand of sugarcane farmers.

BRS Vs BJP

As for the winning chances of BRS contestant Bajireddy Goverdhan, a five-time MLA from the district, his supporters are banking upon his good name and vast experience in electoral politics. His task, however, is the most difficult among all the contestants.

The supporters of Arvind assert that the chances of the MP’s win are greater given the proclivity of the voters in the constituency to re-elect a ‘performing’ public servant. Yes, Nizamabad, once considered a Congress stronghold, have a record of re-electing leaders.

Harish Chandra Heda of the INC was elected for three consecutive terms starting the 1952 general elections. M Ramgopal Reddy also served for three consecutive terms having been elected as an MP in the 1971, 1977 and 1980 elections.

Two more Congress MPs served for two terms: T Bala Goud was elected in 1984 and 1989 and Madhu Yaskhi Goud romped home in 2004 and 2009.

Majority electorate

The constituency has a total electorate of 17,04,867 (8,06,130 males and 8,98,647 females) and its composition too becomes crucial in any election here. The constituent Assembly segments, Nizamabad (Urban), Nizamabad (Rural), Balkonda, Bodhan and Armoor in Nizamabad district and Korutla and Jagtyal in Jagtyal district are assumed to comprise an estimated 30 to 35 per cent Muslims and an equal percentage of Munnur Kapu voters.

The BRS camp expects to get the support of the Muslim and Munnur Kapu voters as Bajireddy Goverdhan himself belongs to the Munnur Kapu section of society. But, so does Arvind whose camp expects to bag a majority of the Munnur Kapu votes.

Congress candidate, MLC T Jeevan Reddy also expects to get strong support from the Muslims in tune with the visible trend across Telangana in the current elections. His membership in the Industry minister D Sridhar Babu headed Sugar Factory Revival Committee has accorded some more importance to him as a contestant.

The Congress government in the State has expedited the process for the revival of the closed Nizam Sugar Factory raising the hopes of sugarcane farmers. The party is likely to bank upon this in the run-up to the election.